Although the UK presidency succeeded in getting agreement that the unit would be staffed by 20 A-grade officials, it left almost all issues of political substance to an already overloaded Austrian presidency.

European leaders agreed at last June’s summit in Amsterdam to appoint an EU High Representative to give the Union a consistent image abroad. They also decided to set up a Brussels-based ‘policy planning and early- warning unit’ to help formulate a better organised and longer-term EU foreign policy.

But it quickly became apparent that governments had very different ideas about the relationship between the planning unit, the High Representative, the Union’s rotating presidency, existing special envoys, the Western European Union (WEU) and the Council of Ministers’ secretariat.

France, for example, was adamant that the High Representative should be a powerful figure leading from the front, while countries such as the UK believed he or she should be kept firmly in line by national governments.

There were also disputes over the amount of information governments should pass on to the planning unit, with countries opposed to a fully-fledged common foreign policy reluctant to hand over sensitive data.

The British presidency, spotting a minefield which it had little hope of crossing successfully, decided early on that it would only tackle basic budgetary and administrative issues.It achieved that, in part, earlier this year when foreign ministers agreed the unit would be run by 20 top-rank officials – one from each EU member state, one from the European Commission, one from the WEU and three from the Council secretariat.

But London had to scale back its ambitions when it became apparent that even the question of where the unit should be based was fraught with political controversy.

A report to foreign ministers this week did not attempt to settle the issue, presenting ministers instead with two possible alternatives.Most governments apparently favour housing the unit within the Council secretariat’s external relations arm, working alongside the existing Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) unit. But critics fear that this option, which was recommended by the Council’s Secretary-General Jürgen Trumpf, could result in a jumbo foreign policy body dwarfing the High Representative.

Other governments and the Commission argue instead that the planning unit should be an autonomous body reporting directly to the High Representative, boosting his or her independence. But there are fears that this could result in duplicated work and wasted effort.

Further complicating matters, governments agree that the final decision on this and other matters should not be taken until the first High Representative has been appointed.

The report also points out that there is little the EU can do if national governments prove reluctant to share sensitive information with the High Representative. It nevertheless stresses that capitals should “assist the policy planning process by providing, to the fullest extent possible, relevant information, including confidential information”.

What does seem clear is that much will depend on who is appointed as the EU’s first High Representative.

A weak character could soon fall prey to the senior national officials within the planning unit and have little influence over foreign ministers. But an excessively outspoken figure could annoy less federally minded EU member states, resulting in a national backlash and the curbing of his or her powers.

Jostling for the position has not yet started in earnest, but is likely to heat up as the end of the year draws near.

Possible contenders for the post include German Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s diplomatic adviser Joachim Bitterlich, ex-Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González (who is also seen as a leading contender to become the next Commission president), ex-Swedish Premier Carl Bildt and Spanish High Representative to Bosnia Carlos Westendorp. Vienna is also said to be manoeuvring for an Austrian to fill the position.

Although EU governments have not yet formally decided whether the High Representative should be a politician or an official, most agree that whoever is chosen should be a big hitter with global clout.

Austrian diplomats acknowledge that resolving all these issues during their country’s term at the EU helm will be an enormous challenge.

“This is one of our priorities, but it comes alongside a huge number of tasks we face over the next four and a half working months,” said a Vienna official. “The first thing we have to decide is whether the High Representative will be a well-known politician or a high-ranking official. We are trying to test the waters on this.”